WASHINGTON -- New Jersey Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. and other Democrats on Monday accused the Internal Revenue Service of "naked political payback" for refusing to allow taxpayers to deduct their entire prepaid 2018 property taxes and threatening to step up enforcement of those who try to claim the tax break.

In a letter to acting IRS Commissioner David Kautter, Pascrell, D-9th Dist., and the other Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee said there was no legal justification for the IRS to decide that only 2018 property taxes paid in response to an assessment -- which would cover just the first half of 2018 in New Jersey -- were deductible.

New Jerseyans who rushed to pay their 2018 property taxes before Dec. 31 won't be able to deduct the expense from their 2017 state income taxes, the New Jersey Society of CPAs advised Thursday.

While the IRS issued instructions last month that some 2018 prepayments are deductible from federal income taxes in 2017 if you've already received a bill, the same is not true for state income taxes, NJCPA said, citing New Jersey's Division of Taxation.

"Homeowners may be in for shock when they discover that their end-of-year planning to increase their 2017 federal property tax deduction will have no impact on their 2017 New Jersey income tax return," said Ralph Albert Thomas, executive director of NJCPA.

It's a smart/savvy move by PSE&G to start making the case for increased rates before any talk of reduced rates is started by being asked to pass along the savings from a reduced corporate rate. The linked news article predates passage of the tax reform bill, but by then it was widely considered a done deal that the bill would pass, and that it would include a substantial drop in the corporate rate.

Also, hard to believe the head of PSE&G is getting paid just shy of 10MM per year! Wow.

I recently found out something about the new tax plan that was put in the bill at the last minute:

You can now draw up to $10k per year out of a 529 plan to pay for PK - 12 private school tuition. Previously, the only tax deferred plan was the Coverdell which had income limits and only allowed $2k per year to be saved.

i read somewhere that cuomo is thinking about modifying ny's tax system in light of the changes in the federal sysytem. i hope murphy will do the same. maybe nj should raise cigarette and gas taxes to levels more in common with its bigger neighbor.

also, some many want to consider investing in muni bonds. below is an interesting article from reuters.

mscottc wrote:It would be really helpful if the Jersey City tax office could post "Preliminary assessments for the 3rd and 4th qtrs, 'subject to the affects of the tax re-val" on the online website." They could just mirror the 1st and 2nd qtr payments. That would help get around the most recent IRS Statement.

You wouldn't be able to deduct prepayments for the 3rd and 4th quarters of next year on your 2017 tax return if they are just "preliminary assessments" and tax rolls not yet certified for those quarters. Doesn't work that way, and no town in America is going to rush out its tax rolls for all four quarters of next year just to give people an extra deduction for this year.

"The IRS has dashed the hopes of New Jersey homeowners who have prepaid their 2018 property taxes in an effort to get around a provision in the new federal tax overhaul."

In a statement it released Wednesday, the IRS says prepayment of property taxes not assessed prior to 2018 are not deductible when filers submit their tax returns next year. The federal agency had previously said it was still reviewing language in the law to determine if it would permit deduction of prepaid local taxes.

Can I pre-pay my entire 2018 property tax bill and deduct it from my 2017 taxes?

The short answer is, probably not. But you might be able to pre-pay a portion of your 2018 taxes and write those off on your 2017 tax return to be filed before April.It depends on whether your local tax authority has previously assessed what your tax bill would be in 2018, according to IRS guidance issued late Wednesday afternoon."Estimating your property tax liability isn't enough. The property tax must be billed too," wrote an economist at the Tax Foundation.

The IRS has dashed the hopes of New Jersey homeowners who have prepaid their 2018 property taxes in an effort to get around a provision in the new federal tax overhaul.

In a statement it released Wednesday, the IRS says prepayment of property taxes not assessed prior to 2018 are not deductible when filers submit their tax returns next year. The federal agency had previously said it was still reviewing language in the law to determine if it would permit deduction of prepaid local taxes.

mscottc wrote:It would be really helpful if the Jersey City tax office could post "Preliminary assessments for the 3rd and 4th qtrs, 'subject to the affects of the tax re-val" on the online website." They could just mirror the 1st and 2nd qtr payments. That would help get around the most recent IRS Statement.

Sorry, but it won't.

The property has to be assessed prior to 2018. Thus, the issue is that they won't let you deduct it for tax year 2017, if you are paying an estimate of 2018's property taxes.

Ralph_Abutts wrote:Yes, indeed, the 2017 AMT is a very relevant detail. Another is if taxes are paid by a bank out of mortgage escrow which will be the situation for many property owners.

That is the case for me. I have checked and so far my bank is saying they will not adjust my escrow for the prepayment. Additionally I will have to wait until my annual escrow analysis to be rebated.

The bank that holds my mortgage (large national bank) asked me to send proof of payment using their secure messaging system - PDF (not jpg, etc.). I'm sending a screenshot from the city website that shows the payment received and also the email receipt from the processing company that the city uses. I made the payment online.

There's lots of FUD going around. If you have the spare cash and if your CPA or due diligence supports the decision, go for it. The potential saving isn't huge, but better than nothing.

It would be really helpful if the Jersey City tax office could post "Preliminary assessments for the 3rd and 4th qtrs, 'subject to the affects of the tax re-val" on the online website." They could just mirror the 1st and 2nd qtr payments. That would help get around the most recent IRS Statement.

People across the United States rushed this week to pay their 2018 property taxes early, hoping to take advantage one last time of a federal deduction that will be scaled back under the tax-code overhaul signed by President Trump.

On Wednesday, however, the ­Internal Revenue Service announced that those prepayments could be deducted only in limited circumstances, a decision that appeared to invalidate many taxpayers’ efforts and raised the prospect that local governments could come under pressure to refund millions of dollars.

IRS guidance came out tonight (https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/IRS- ... cumstances-466865593.html) To be deductible, 2018 property taxes must be assessed and paid in 2017. If my understanding is correct, then this means that only half of the 2018 taxes (1st half of the year which have been assessed) would be deductible if paid by Dec. 31. Not sure what the impact of the property tax re-evals may mean??FYI - The JC tax dept was accepting payments for as much of 2018 as you wanted to pay. They were pretty efficient given that I'm sure they were not anticipating this wrinkle of the GOP tax bill.

Not entirely sure what you are looking at with regards to muni bonds and the opportunity. If you choose to invest in NJ Muni Bonds, nothing will change with current tax plan. You will still receive tax free investment income as usual. This would not be related to SALT deductions.

Quote:

hero69 wrote:any thoughts on buying municipal bonds as a way to work around salt limitations?

By Claude Brodesser-Akner and Brent JohnsonNJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Gov. Chris Christie is expected to issue an executive order Wednesday to allow all New Jersey taxpayers to prepay at least a portion of their 2018 property taxes before the sweeping federal tax law takes effect Monday, NJ Advance Media has learned.

I believe they've also changed the law so that between 2018 and 2025, property and capital expenses can be fully deducted in the first year. No need to depreciate over 5 years.

That was something Larry Kudlow was pushing Trump to include. I am not sure it applies to real estate (that whole passive / active income split), but its going to be huge for capital intensive companies (manufacturing, mining, oil / gas exploration). Being able to expense everything at once (then carry over any loss to next year and expense it again) is a major reduction in the cost of capital purchases. Before you had to depreciate it over a 3 to 27.5 year period (depending on what was purchased).

Typical of the Senate though.. they insisted on time limits (they did this with the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts). Hopefully, this item will in next year's budget, be extended in perpetuity.

"If you are currently getting your taxes escrowed, you'll need to work with your escrow agency or mortgage company on any future adjustments to your escrow account. Usually escrowed taxes are a matter for the taxpayer and the taxpayers' escrow agency to resolve."